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Back from the Eye Specialist - Poor Harley

Sabby

Well-known member
Just back from the eye specialist with Harley. He has got follicles in both eyes; I think they can be coursed by allergies. And he also has got a small ulcer. He got Chloramphenicol Eye Drops for the ulcer and Optimmune Cream for six month for the follicles. We have to go back in two weeks, if the ulcer doesn’t go away then they have to operate. I don’t even know how I feel. I am praying that it will go away as I don’t want to put Harley through an operation on his eye. I feel so bad for Harley my poor boy has been through enough and to be honest I had enough as well. I have got a big cabinet with all the dogs medication and now my fridge is also being taken over with eye drops.

Has anybody got any experience with eye ulcers and what are the chances it will go away with drops?

I am off to eat a big bar of chocolate now and feel sorry for myself.
 
Has anybody got any experience with eye ulcers and what are the chances it will go away with drops?/QUOTE]

Chloramphenicol is the standard initial treatment for corneal ulcers, which I assume this is. It is usually very effective, as is Optimune for Dry Eye, but I have no idea whether it does anything for follicles or not.

If the ulcer does not respond to Chloramphenicol the surgery might well be to scrape the surface of the eye, then spin a serum out of Harley's blood plasma to be applied to the affected eye frequently. The idea of the serum is to utilise the cells in the serum to encourage new cells to be formed on the surface of the eye to heal the ulcer. It is often, but not always, effective. The long established alternative treatment is to scrape the eyeall then stitch down the third eyelid, sometimes turning the eye completely around in the socket, where it can rest while healing takes place, usually about 3 weeks.

Have you been given any pain relief for Harley? Metacam is usually an effective choice.

P.S. Enjoy the chocolate :cool:
 
Sorry to read about poor Harley. Let's hope the drops and cream help his eye to recover quickly.


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Has anybody got any experience with eye ulcers and what are the chances it will go away with drops?/QUOTE]

Chloramphenicol is the standard initial treatment for corneal ulcers, which I assume this is. It is usually very effective, as is Optimune for Dry Eye, but I have no idea whether it does anything for follicles or not.

If the ulcer does not respond to Chloramphenicol the surgery might well be to scrape the surface of the eye, then spin a serum out of Harley's blood plasma to be applied to the affected eye frequently. The idea of the serum is to utilise the cells in the serum to encourage new cells to be formed on the surface of the eye to heal the ulcer. It is often, but not always, effective. The long established alternative treatment is to scrape the eyeall then stitch down the third eyelid, sometimes turning the eye completely around in the socket, where it can rest while healing takes place, usually about 3 weeks.

Have you been given any pain relief for Harley? Metacam is usually an effective choice.

P.S. Enjoy the chocolate :cool:

Thanks Flo

He said that the ulcer is very small, thats why the normal vet didn't see it. Hope that it is small is a good sign. (said something about fat deposits) he said and done so much it was all a bit to much to take in. Even took a photo of the folicles. Didn't give any pain relief, said it be more itchy then anything else.
 
Sorry to hear about Harley! At least you know what has been bothering his eyes and hopefully his new medications will give him some relief soon! Thinking about you and sending hugs
 
Hi Sabby, I am sorry you have got this to deal with on top of everything else. I have experienced this problem with a Cat. When I rescued her, the vet could not believe the state of her
eyes, he said she would feel she had red hot pokers being stuck in her eyes.. With careful care we managed to recover the situation to the amazement of the vet. I know this might be a bit different, but I would like to think if this poor little cat recovered, (and her general health was very poor) Harley will also respond positively.
 
Oh no Sabby I can't believe it :( Poor Harley and poor you, so much to deal with over the last year or so.

I don't have experience of follices but have had a couple with eye ulcers - they are extremely painful but Harley is already on pain meds so hopefully that will help him.

I do hope it heals well with the meds - Lauren's eye healed in under a week [young, fit dog], but Kyla [8 year old, severe SM and epilepsy] was not so lucky and had to have the surgery - as Flo describes above. That was VERY effective though and she made a full recovery.

Hoping that Harley will be fully fit again soon.
 
Sorry to hear about Harley.
But at least he is getting the treatment he needs and you spotted it early. Even though your vet couldn't see anything you knew it wasn't right. A lot of people might not notice. He is lucky to have you. :)

M&O
 
Thanks Flo

He said that the ulcer is very small, thats why the normal vet didn't see it. Hope that it is small is a good sign. (said something about fat deposits) he said and done so much it was all a bit to much to take in. Even took a photo of the folicles. Didn't give any pain relief, said it be more itchy then anything else.

Yes, it is an awful lot to take in when you are as worried about Harley as you must have been at the time. The fatty deposits are called Corneal Lipidosis. They are fatty deposits which settle in the eye, but cause no problems. It is thought that an excess of fat in the diet can be responsible for their formation, but I don't think anything has been proved. Sometimes they disappear.
 
Oh no Sabby I can't believe it :( Poor Harley and poor you, so much to deal with over the last year or so.

I don't have experience of follices but have had a couple with eye ulcers - they are extremely painful but Harley is already on pain meds so hopefully that will help him.

I do hope it heals well with the meds - Lauren's eye healed in under a week [young, fit dog], but Kyla [8 year old, severe SM and epilepsy] was not so lucky and had to have the surgery - as Flo describes above. That was VERY effective though and she made a full recovery.

Hoping that Harley will be fully fit again soon.

My worry is that Harley is in pain. I don’t think the Lyrica he is taking would help as it is only for Neurology problems? Could he take something else on top of the Lyrica?
 
Your vet would probably give you Metacam for him, which is good at walloping pain. By 'follicles' does the ophthalmologist mean that Harley's eyelashes are rubbing against his eyeballs, causing irritation? If so, some soothing eyedrops might help - again your vet can suggest (I find Optrex Soothing Eyedrops from the chemist as good as anything, and it's not very 'druggy' so OK for dogs and usually doesn't interfere with other medication).

Get your weapons organised and your armour on, friend - you've got a fight on your hands to get Harley comfortable!(y)

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
I have done some rooting around and found this on a reputable canine eyecare site:

"3. DISTICHIASIS AND ECTOPIC CILIA. Eyelids of dogs can grow abnormal hairs. These hairs grow from the oil glands (Meibomian glands) of the lids and are called distichia if the hair protrudes from the oil gland opening onto the edge of the eyelid. Distichia are often irritating, especially if the hairs are long and stiff. Ectopic cilia are also hairs growing from oil glands on the eyelid, but the hair protrudes from the inner surface of the eyelid and is very painful, often causing corneal ulcers. Dogs with distichiasis may or may not show signs of discomfort, ranging from slight intermittent squinting and/or rubbing of the eyes, to severe squinting and discomfort. Dogs with ectopic cilia are always uncomfortable. Most dogs with ectopic cilia are young adult dogs or older puppies. Both conditions are common in Shih Tzus. Many other breeds have problems with distichia. At Animal Eye Care, both conditions are treated surgically under general anesthesia, with a procedure called cryoepilation. With this procedure, the abnormal hair follicles are frozen using a liquid nitrogen probe, and the hairs then removed.

entropion.JPG
Numerous distichia rubbing on the surface of the eye.
After surgery, the eyelids are swollen for 4-5 days, and the eyelid margins will depigment and turn pink. Usually, the lid margins will repigment within 4 months. It is important to understand that new abnormal hairs can grow from new sites after surgery, but this is uncommon in dogs older than 3 years old (unless the dog is a Shih Tzu). With cryoepilation, 85-90% of the treated hair follicles will not regrow. Repeat surgical treatment is rarely required, unless the animal is a puppy (and grows new hairs in new sites) or a Shih Tzu.







This seems to fit in with what you remember the opthalmologist telling you, which excludes Corneal Lipidosis. Did you by any chance see someone at The Willows? If so, they don't mind if you e-mail them with any questions :)
 
Just talked to the specialist again. I have asked for pain relief so I will be picking that up this afternoon.

Thank you Flo in taking the time to look this up. I always say the people on this Forum are amazing.

Flo – He has not got DISTICHIASIS AND ECTOPIC CILIA he said if he would have that they would operate straight away as it is very very painful. The follicles are more like spots and are coursed by the immune system, can’t remember if he said insufficient immune system.

The ulcer he said is very small but he said that other breeds don’t find it that painful but most Cavaliers do. Again he said about fat deposits and i am sure he mentioned Lipidosis. I am useless when it comes to remembering things. He said that the eye drops are anti inflammatory and antibiotics and the cream will help to sooth his eyes but Harleys body has to do the healing. There is a very good chance that he will heal, I should see a difference within a week but if he is still the same in one week with no improvement then I need to go back in a week.

I didn't go to the Willows i am lucky my vets have an Opthalmologist in house.
 
How is Harley progressing now?
Did he respond well to treatment?

Hope you and your little boy are well.
M&O

Thanks for asking.

His eye looks a lot better but I won't know if the ulcer is gone untill i am going back to the specialist on thursday. I really hope he doesn't need a operation.
 
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